Author name: Simon Bolton

I am delighted to be returning to YLS where I undertook the first 200hour YTT programme run from the studio during 2014. My desire to study more of the ancient wisdom of Yoga along with my work within the substance and alcohol addiction field led me to be fortunate to be amongst the first group of Y12SR teachers to be trained in the U.K over Easter 2015. I had recognised many benefits in yogic philosophy and practise and importantly how the 12 step recovery programme as developed by Alcoholics Anonymous during the 1930’s & 1940’s seemed to weave together with the ancient wisdom of yoga.

American yogi Nikki Meyers recognised the links between yoga & 12 step and by practising both systems together claims that the addition of yoga to her 12 step recovery from a variety of addictions have prevented her relapse. She has gone on to create the Y12SR framework. With several hundred yoga teachers having now completed the Y12SR training in the States.There are now many regular meetings or classes and it has become a feature of addiction treatment centres across the U.S.A.

With just a handful of such classes in the U.K I am very much looking forward to holding space for the first Y12SR class in Eastbourne , where along with other interested 12 step yogis we can explore the incredible similarities between yoga & 12 step recovery ...

Steps 1-3 – admitting our powerlessness and surrendering to a higher power= isn’t that Ishvara pranidhana ?

Step 4 – Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves, = isn’t that svadhyaya + tapas +satya ?

Step 9 – making amends = ahimsa +satya

Character defects = kleshas

Meetings = sangha

Introducing our teachers – SIMON

Leave a Comment / Blog Post / By Simon Bolton

My Yoga journey began for real, about three years ago although it had been something that I had wanted to explore for a very long time, life just kept getting in the way. So I found myself on my yoga mat at Yoga Life Studio while trying to heal having gone through a challenging time …

Introducing our teachers – SIMON Read More »